In The News

A Level Computer Science student Tony McDonagh has wowed his tutors with a coded solution design which he has created at a fraction of the price of those sold in industry.

One of Tony’s Computer Science modules, the project in year 2, was to design an end user system which would input, output and process data, at its most basic level. Being an accomplished musician he decided to design a coded solution utilising Raspberry Pi technology which would be placed between a guitar and an amp.

Says Tony: “I wanted to do something creative which was linked to my interest in music. I created a sound processor such as EQ and Distortion to make a guitar multi effects unit. An important feature is the customisation of the pedal. For each parameter within the system, such as the delay feedback level, a value can be set so that as the pedal moves, the parameter will range between two values. This means that while playing live the tone can be easily modified. These would generally cost anything from £100 to £1,000+, however the hardware to run the programme I have designed costs just £25.”

Tony, aged 18, came to York College from Selby High School. He studies A Level Computer Science, Music Technology, Maths and Further Maths. He explains: “My coded solution took me over 60 hours to complete, and I taught myself pure data, which is used for audio processing. I chose to come to York College so that I could study a course combination that interested me and I am grateful to the College for allowing me the flexibility to carry out my work, and for supporting me with my documentation.”

IT & Computing tutor Tina Baker is so impressed with Tony’s computer system that she will be nominating his coded solution for the Cambridge Raspberry Pi Award. She says: “Tony’s work is exceptional, he is a truly gifted coder and has the creative ability to think outside of the box.”

Tony hopes to study Computer Science and Maths at York University and would like to go on to create an online digital workstation which would allow collaborations to be created by producers over distance.